Thank you Angie.  I'm supposed to post eight random things about myself.  Here goes…

1.  My husband and I have the same birthday, which happens to be tomorrow, so that's why I thought of it.  Around the time we started dating, somehow birthdays came into the coversation and when I told him mine was November 22, he said, "so is mine!"  I thought he was lying, and that was the worst pick-up line I had ever heard.  Turns out, it was true.  Coincidentally, Rory's birthday is exactly six months before ours, May 22, so it is her half birthday.  I guess 22 is a good number for us.

2.  My very first class at NDSU was Introduction to Engineering, and there was more people in that room than there are in my entire home town.  It was a bit overwhelming!  It's funny to think that by the time I graduated, I knew the names of the majority of those people.

3.  I am addicted to any kind of paper, fabric, or ribbon.  I love to wrap gifts simply because I love paper and ribbon.  Forget the shopping, I'd rather just wrap gifts at Christmas time.  I buy fabric, and can't bring myself to cut into it because it is just too pretty to look at.

4.  I absolutely hate coffee in all forms.  Can't stand the taste, can't stand the smell.  Blech!  But, with this cold weather, I am so craving peppermint hot chocolate from Starbucks.  I may have to make a stop on my way home!

5.  I have been saying for two weeks now that I cannot believe some people already have their Christmas lights and trees up.  It's not even Thanksgiving for cripe's sake!  Well, last night, Rory and I were out and about delivering photo orders, and we ended up driving around the neighborhoods doing what?  Looking at Christmas lights!  And (I hope my husband isn't reading this), I think we're going to start getting our stuff up this weekend.  In my defense, we're going to be gone most of the week next week and Thanksgiving is late this year!

6.  Every night before I go to bed, I go in and check on Rory.  I cover her up with her blankies, rub her soft cheeks, and say a little prayer for her; the same prayer I have been saying since the day we brought her home.  She looks exactly the same when she's asleep now as she did then.

7.  One time, I came home from college and told my brother Adam that I learned how to cut hair, and I could give him a haircut.  It ended with him chasing me around the house and I had to give him money to go into town to get it fixed.  Hey, I just wanted to try!  How else was I supposed to learn?  Let's just say, it is A LOT harder than it looks!

8.  I am in love with UPS tracking!  There is just something about the word 'DELIVERED' that makes me so happy!  Knowing that when I get home from work there will be a box on my doorstep.  I am getting packages almost every other day right now, filled with prints and cards, and I am giddy when I see my work in print.  I wish I could keep one of each clients' holiday cards.  They are all turning out so beautifully!

I think I am going to pass this on, and tag Jeannette.  We met at a photography workshop this past spring, and I know there's a lot I don't know about her!  Plus, you need to go over to her blog to see how cute her baby Isaac is!

Yesterday, at preschool, Rory made a little stick horse out of paper and a wrapping paper tube.  There is a piece of felt over it, which serves as a saddle.  Last night, she galloped in on it, and told me, "Mommy!  My horsie has a SALAD."  "You mean a saddle?"  "No, a SALAD."  Okay, Rory!  I died.

It started out as a hobby, a way to capture the real life moments of my daughter and my family, quickly turned into more of an obsession and a passion, and this summer, into a business, Everyday Art Photography.  I jumped into it thinking I would just have some fun, take some photos of friends and family, and get some good hands-on experience.  But then it became more. Before I knew it, I was turning people down.  I went back and forth with it.  I have a "real" job that I have to go to 8 hours every day.  And lets not forget that first and foremost, I am a wife and a mother.  Can I really be a photographer, too?

Thankfully, in just a few short months, photography has lead me to where I am now.  I have met and worked with some amazing families and kids, and I have been able to do something that allows me to really use a side of myself that I love and enjoy, but maybe never really knew I had.  (How many engineers/photographers do you know?  LOL!)  I have a lot left to learn, but it is something that I am looking forward to.

I have to thank all of the families who have made it all become a reality.  For the opportunities to photograph your children, the words of encouragement and praise, the mouth-to-mouth advertising, and the patience when I was trying to figure things out!  I never even dreamed it would be what it is today when I started this summer.  The amount of people who look at this blog every day, the number of emails I get asking about a session or just to give me a compliment on my work…it is humbling.

Last Saturday, I had my last session of the year.  I am taking a much needed break for a month or two to spend time with my family during the holidays and get some behind the scenes work done.  I hope to get a new fancy website up and running, and to get some of the kinks worked out.  I will begin booking sessions for 2009 come mid-January.

I do have a couple of fun blog contests planned during my down time, though, so stay tuned for that!  And of course, hopefully this blog will resume with it's original intent; to journal day to day events in the life of Rory Jean and our family.

Thank you, again, to everyone!  I am so blessed.  And to end, a shot from my last session…

Oh Rory Jean Cinderella, you are quite the pretender.  For the last two weeks, you have declared yourself as Sinner-ella.  I call you by the name your daddy and I gave you, and you quickly correct me, "No mom, I Sinner-ella."  Oh, my mistake.  {And by the way, what happened to mommy?  When did I become just mom?}  We pull into the driveway, and you exclaim, "Here's my castle!"  You are quite the princess!

You spend hours taking caring of all your babies.  Calling them by name, feeding them bottles, changing their diapers, dressing and undressing, taking them shopping at Target.

You love to make cupcakes with any bowl and spoon you can get your hands on.  Mixing, frosting, adding prinkles.  And mommy and daddy always love it when you give us a taste.

You play doctor, pretending to put your stethescope in your ears so that you can check mommy's lungs.  This one makes me sad.  I wish you had never had to learn how to play doctor.

You wrap your blanket around your shoulders and run up and down the hallway yelling, "SUPER Rory!"

There is so much in that imagination of yours.  Everyday, I look forward to seeing what you are going to come up with next.

A wonderful video!

As promised!

The last couple of my mini-sessions were spent with a big family.  A family who I'm sure is getting very impatient with me because it has taken me so long to get their sneak peek up on the blog.  Have I mentioned that my life is ridiculous right now?  Who knew this little photography thing would keep me so busy!  It's good busy, though.

Since they had two sessions, I thought it called for two posts.  Today we have the little ones, tomorrow will be the big ones!

Another sneak peek from the mini-sessions!  Miss Reagan has the most beautiful brown eyes, it's obvious that she's adored by her parents, and she's going to be a big sister!  She was a busy little girl, but I think we managed to get the job done.

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It was such a pleasure to meet you all!

That's what Rory said when she saw me downloading these photos tonight!  She looks forward to seeing him and his daddy every morning when we get to preschool.  I had a blast on our mini-session, and his parents are such fun, genuine people.  Thank you for letting me photograph him!

{click this one to see it a little bigger} 

I've already expressed my love of this family, so this time, can I just express my love of the tree behind them?  It seems the horrible winds we got two weekends ago not only ruined the photo shoots I had planned, but it also blew all the leaves off the trees at the location of the mini-sessions.  Thankfully, there was this one lone tree holding out for me, and I have to say I think it worked in my favor.

{Click this one to see it bigger}